San Daniele ham: meeting the demand for quality in times of crisis

The 2013 figures are confirmed

The sales figure grew by 4% as compared with 2012, with a turnover at production level equal to 330 million euros, exports basically on a par with the previous year and accounting for about 13 % of the volume sold. 60 % of which to EU countries.

These are the figures providing a picture of how this PDO product from Friuli did in the year that has just ended. They confirmed the food consumption trends recorded for the same period (cf. Global Inflation Impact Survey – Nielsen, 2013): a strong demand for quality even in times of crisis, made possible economically by cutting the number of occasions for consumption.

The San Daniele ham segment ended on a basically even keel what was a very difficult year, in terms of both general economic trends and single instances of critical circumstances. In 2013 four ham factories out of 31 discontinued their production If we exclude the incidence of these companies – which meant a net drop in production of 9.1 % – from our analysis, the turnover of the segment was actually up by 4%. Other highly significant data, even more important in the context of the economic situation, indicate a net growth by 14.3% over 2012 in the production of San Daniele sold sliced in trays, meaning over 14 million packages produced and certified, and a very positive hold in exports.

The 2013 figures confirm that over 12% of PDO San Daniele ham is sold sliced in trays, while exports, as stated, continued to account for 13% of the total production in spite of the lack of contributions towards sales of the companies in difficult situations.

So, all told, the Prosciutto di San Daniele Consortium is enjoying a good state of health and proving capable of standing up to a far from gentle blows such as the economic situation and other specific factors that affected the segment last year. This PDO product from Friuli is identified increasingly as a champion of excellence of which Italy is proud. “It is a constant commitment of the Consortium to communicate to consumers the values represented by the ethics of the product and of those that produce it, making it inimitable”, stressed Mario Cichetti, manager of the Consortium.

“Our commitment in fighting counterfeiting, on which the institutions and media concentrate, coincides with the increased circulation of these values to make them “common knowledge”. An increasing number of people should know that all the ingredients of San Daniele ham are absolutely natural and be aware of the strict checks it undergoes throughout the production chain (pig farms, butchers and ham factories), which is all-Italian”, continued Cichetti.

The Consortium has always banked on quality, and even before the market started to give negative signs it defined projects and resources precisely in order to give consumers a clear sign that it was in their interests to look for excellent Italian products such as San Daniele ham.

“Flavour and health cannot be sacrificed even in critical times. Indeed, it is precisely in times like these that they become essential”, concluded Mario Cichetti.